As I grow older both chronologically and spiritually, I find myself being less and less influenced by what people think.
Years ago, as a young Christian, I was concerned about how people perceived me. I wanted to be "spiritual," and I just assumed that those who were Christians before I was already knew what spirituality was. Thus, it was simple: I would listen to them, learn from them, and do what they told me.
The only problem is that I found people--who all claimed to be mature in the Lord and thus spiritual--didn't agree on what was spiritual and what was not.
Recently, something happened that made me start thinking again about the issue of spirituality. I was accused of being unspiritual by a fellow Christian because I did not do something that he thought I should be doing. Was that activity reading the Bible? Nope. Was it praying? Nope. Was it helping the poor? Nope. Was it evangelizing? Nope. He was selling a commodity, and in his estimation I was unspiritual because I did not buy that commodity from him. What was the commodity? It was a type of food.
As I thought about the utterly ridiculous notion of being unspiritual simply because I did not buy this product from him, I began to reflect on what people have tried to impose upon me over the years.
Some Attempted Impositions As I recall, one of the first things that someone attempted to impose upon me within weeks of my becoming a believer in Christ was cessationism. For those of you who might not be familiar with the term, cessationism is the belief that the more demonstrative gifts have ceased and that these gifts are no longer available today. Which gifts are these? Well, some of them, for example, include speaking in tongues, the gifts of healings, the workings of miracles, (see 1 Corinthians 12 for more). This man was a well-meaning preacher who immediately jumped on the opportunity to indoctrinate this young convert. I was only 20 years old when I got saved, and this was the first "you are spiritual if" that I was introduced to.
In his thinking, I was spiritual if I agreed with him and believed that the gifts had ceased.
Later, however, I met a solid Christian man with an admirable Christian lifestyle who told me that the gifts were for today. And, to be really spiritual, I had to believe that the gifts were still for today and that God wanted me to exercise those gifts.
For the cessationist, if I believed in the gifts, I was unspiritual, but for the other guy if I didn't believe in the gifts, I was unspiritual. Both of these men were solid believers who loved the Lord and led good, solid Christian lives.
To Mustache or not to Mustache? Then, I remember that the next thing I was "corrected" about was the mustache I was sporting at the time. A preacher took me aside and told me that it was unspiritual to have a mustache or a beard. When I asked him why this was an issue, he said that other people think that it is sin to have a mustache, and I was offending these other believers for whom Christ died. Therefore, since my mustache was offensive to some, I needed to shave it off. Years later, a man told me that every believer should have a full beard, and only pagans shaved their faces. My clean-shaven face offended him, and because of that I was sinning against Christ! So, if I had facial hair, I was unspiritual, and if I didn't have facial hair, I was unspiritual.
Church Attendance One of the big things that was pressed hard upon me as a new believer was that I was to be in church every time the doors were open. It was spiritual to be in church. So, wanting to be spiritual, I went to Sunday morning and Sunday evening services. I also went to the Wednesday night church service, and I attended a home-group Bible study on Tuesday nights. Years later, I was talking with an older woman in the church who had been a missionary with her husband for more than 30 years. She rebuked me for being in the church too often. According to her, I was spending so much time at church functions that it was obvious I was unspiritual because really spiritual people spend quality time during the week with their families, not at every possible church service. So, if I didn't go to church enough, I was unspiritual, and if I went to church too often, I was unspiritual.
How To Read the Bible I remember once talking with an a-millennialist (a person who does not believe in a literal, earthly reign of Christ), and he smugly told me that I was unspiritual because I did not spiritualize certain passages enough. Then, in an argument with a Roman Catholic, he smugly told me that I was unspiritual because I spiritualized certain passages too much and came up with the symbolic body and blood of Christ. So, if I didn't spiritualize the text, I was unspiritual, and if I spiritualized the text, I was unspiritual.
No Cough Syrups In my early days as a Christian, I remember talking with a church deacon who told me that anyone who drank any alcohol whatsoever was unspiritual. This man would not even use certain cough syrups (although, he had no problem with taking perscription pain medications.) Then, later, a pastor said that Paul makes it clear in Romans 14 and elsewhere that the only person who cannot partake in moderate amounts of alcohol are the weak and immature Christians. So, according to one man, if I took certain cough syrups I was unspiritual, and according to the other man, if I didn't drink a beer with my pizza I was unspiritual.
Evangelize Everywhere I once knew a man who would attempt to "evangelize" nearly every person he saw no matter where he was or what the situation was. He told me that I was unspiritual if I didn't do the same. Then, on one occasion I was out with our church group doing door-to-door "evangelism," and I was sorely chided by a older Christian man whose door I had knocked on. He was adamant that going around from door to door disturbing people in their homes was a bad witness for Christ. So, if I didn't evangelize enough, I was unspiritual, but if I evangelized too much, I was unspiritual.
I could go on and on, but I am sure that you get the picture.
Many of you have likely had similar experiences, and this takes me back to the thought in my opening paragraph.
The older I get, the less I am influenced by what people think. At the same time, I also find that I am less concerned about convincing others to think the way that I do.
Here is the final issue for me as I grow in the Lord.
My goal is to find out what Christ wants me to do, and then do it.
My goal is also to find out what Christ considers sin, and avoid it.
My goal is to find out--through a personal study of the Scriptures--what spirituality is, and then strive for it.
My goal is also to discover what legalism is, and avoid it.
It is really a simple fact that we are not all going to agree on many issues that we think are spiritual or not spiritual.
The key--at least for me--is twofold: do not let others force you into their mold, and do not attempt to force others into yours.
However, one must be careful as one grows and matures in the Lord. In my humble estimation, the more one grows and matures in the Lord, the less legalistic that person will be. But, we are never to flaunt our freedom in a way that presents a stumbling block to our fellow believers.
Paul's words are a fitting conclusion:
So then, about eating food sacrificed to idols: We know that an idol is nothing at all in the world and that there is no God but one. For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as indeed there are many “gods” and many “lords”), yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live. But not everyone knows this. Some people are still so accustomed to idols that when they eat such food they think of it as having been sacrificed to an idol, and since their conscience is weak, it is defiled. But food does not bring us near to God; we are no worse if we do not eat, and no better if we do. Be careful, however, that the exercise of your freedom does not become a stumbling block to the weak. For if anyone with a weak conscience sees you who have this knowledge eating in an idol’s temple, won’t he be emboldened to eat what has been sacrificed to idols? So this weak brother, for whom Christ died, is destroyed by your knowledge. When you sin against your brothers in this way and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ. Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause him to fall (1 Corinthians 8:4-13).
Send comments about this, or any, Coffee Talk to Rick Walston at: CES @ ColumbiaSeminary.edu
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